Omni Talk Retail

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Dollar General's plans to test a new subscription membership program and whether value-focused shoppers are ready for another retail membership offering. Chris Walton and Ben Miller debate the opportunities and risks of launching a paid program, including delivery benefits, customer loyalty, and whether Dollar General's assortment can support a comp...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Walmart's decision to open Walmart.com to shoppers in Mexico and what it means for the future of global marketplaces. Chris Walton and Ben Miller discuss cross-border commerce, international marketplace growth, pricing transparency, and why Walmart continues to make bold investments in long-term growth opportunities. The conversation also examines o...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment examines Target's new shoppable Bravo digital series and what it says about the growing convergence of entertainment, media, and commerce. Chris Walton and Ben Miller discuss whether retailers are increasingly competing with streaming platforms, creators, and social media companies for consumer attention, and why discovery continues to evolve beyond traditio...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Starbucks' ambitious plans to add up to 10,000 additional U.S. stores and whether smaller-format locations can still deliver on the company's vision of rebuilding the coffeehouse experience. Chris Walton and Ben Miller discuss Starbucks' "Back to Starbucks" strategy, the role of drive-thru, mobile ordering, and delivery, and whether smaller stores c...

In this Omni Talk Retail interview, recorded live from the Global DIY Summit 2026 in Amsterdam, Chris Walton talks with Ryan Baker, Chief Operating Officer of Bunnings Group, about customer trust, omnichannel retail, and how one of the world's most successful home improvement retailers continues to evolve in a rapidly changing market. Ryan shares his 25-year journey with Bunnings, from starting on...

In this Omni Talk Retail interview, recorded live from the Global DIY Summit 2026 in Amsterdam, Chris Walton talks with Raha Been, Senior Vice President of Research & Development and Commercialization, Consumer Business at 3M, about innovation, consumer behavior, and how one of the world's most recognizable brands is adapting to a rapidly changing market. Raha shares her unique journey from ca...

In this Omni Talk Retail interview, recorded live from the Global DIY Summit 2026 in Amsterdam, Chris Walton talks with Steffen Erath, Head of Innovation at Hansgrohe, about why sustainability should be more than a business objective and instead become a starting point for innovation. Steffen shares how Hansgrohe approaches innovation at the intersection of sustainability, technology, and customer...

In this Omni Talk Retail interview, recorded live from the Global DIY Summit 2026 in Amsterdam, Chris Walton talks with Robert Wicha, Commercial Director at Castorama Poland, about the company's marketplace strategy, the growing importance of data quality, and how technology is reshaping the future of home improvement retail. Robert explains why Castorama views its marketplace as a curated extensi...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Duvo and Mirakl . In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: Yum! Brands agrees to sell Pizza Hut in a two-part, $2.7 billion deal, splitting ownership between private equity firm LongRange Capital and Yum China . New data from Brick Meets Click and Mercatus shows U.S. online grocery sales surging nearly 28% year ove...

In this week's Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group , Mirakl , Ocampo Capital , Quorso and Veloq , Chris Walton was joined by special guest Ben Miller, former Vice President of Original Content at ShopTalk, now an independent retail analyst, to discuss: • Starbucks' plans to potentially add 5,000 to 10,000 new U.S. stores through a smaller-format concept,...

In this Omni Talk Retail interview, recorded live from the Global DIY Summit 2026 in Amsterdam, Chris Walton talks with Harri Karumo, Senior Vice President and K-Rauta Chain Director at Kesko, about what makes Nordic home improvement retail unique and how Kesko leverages insights across multiple retail businesses. Harri shares his journey from finance to retail leadership, explains Kesko's retaile...

In this Omni Talk Retail interview, recorded live from the Global DIY Summit 2026 in Amsterdam, Chris Walton talks with Joost de Beijer, CEO of Intergamma, about what makes DIY retail in the Netherlands unique and how the company is evolving its omnichannel strategy to meet changing customer expectations. Joost explains why Dutch consumers prioritize convenience, how smaller homes and gardens shap...

In this Omni Talk Retail interview, recorded live from the Global DIY Summit 2026 in Amsterdam, Chris Walton catches up with Dan Starr, President & CEO of Do it Best Group, to discuss the company's transformation following its acquisition of True Value. Dan shares what it takes to integrate two major wholesale distribution organizations, how Do it Best is eliminating duplicate costs while pres...

In this Omni Talk Retail interview, recorded live from the Global DIY Summit 2026 in Amsterdam, Chris Walton sits down with Curtis Smith, Executive Director of the Do it Best Foundation and True Value Foundation, to discuss the role of community impact in the future of retail. Curtis shares the story behind Do it Best's acquisition of True Value, how the combined organization has expanded to rough...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Duvo and Mirakl . In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: Pinterest rolls out a new storefront-linking tool that connects creators' Amazon storefronts directly to their Pinterest profiles, automatically applying affiliate links whenever they tag an eligible product. Dick's Sporting Goods partners with Lids to laun...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Duvo and Mirakl . In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol says the chain can add as many as 10,000 net new U.S. locations by shifting to smaller, cheaper-to-build stores under 1,000 square feet. Dollar General reports that same-day delivery is already a profitable business, contributing...

In this 5 Insightful Minutes episode, Tomáš Čupr, Co-Founder and CEO of duvo.ai and CEO of the Rohlik Group, joins Omni Talk live from Shoptalk Europe to discuss why retailers need to rethink how they approach AI adoption. Drawing from his experience building duvo.ai while leading one of Europe's largest online grocers, Tomáš explains why AI shouldn't be viewed as a replacement for people, but as...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five Lightning Round segment closes out the show with summer travel recommendations, lifelong sports loyalties, and the retail leaders Chris Walton and Chap Achen would most love to spend time with. Chris and Chap discuss why Europe tops their summer bucket lists, from iconic destinations to the experiences they believe everyone should have at least once. They also bond...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores The Mall, a startup attempting to create a universal shopping feed across thousands of brands. Chris Walton and Chap Achen debate whether consumers actually want a new discovery platform, what makes shopping different from streaming, and why the biggest players may already be solving this problem. The conversation also examines what this idea reveal...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Amazon's latest AI-powered visual search features and what they reveal about the future of shopping. Chris Walton and Chap Achen discuss whether shoppers want to search using aesthetics instead of keywords, how discovery is evolving, and why visual commerce could reshape customer expectations. The conversation also examines the risks that come with...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores New York's proposed legislation aimed at limiting AI-powered personalized pricing. Chris Walton and Chap Achen discuss the fine line between personalization and surveillance pricing, why retailers should tread carefully, and how AI can still enhance the customer experience without eroding trust. The conversation also highlights the growing regulator...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Amazon's expansion of same-day grocery delivery in the UK and what it could mean for the future of grocery retail. Chris Walton and Chap Achen discuss why the UK grocery market presents unique challenges, whether Amazon can steal share from established players, and why omnichannel execution remains critical. The conversation also examines how delive...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Walmart's move into restaurant delivery by bringing Subway sandwiches directly to customers through its app. Chris Walton and Chap Achen discuss why this expansion is about much more than sandwiches, how Walmart's fulfillment infrastructure continues to evolve, and why Uber Eats and DoorDash should be paying close attention. The conversation also ex...

In this special and exclusive live podcast episode recorded at Shoptalk Europe 2026, Chris Walton is joined by Rebecca Bemhena (Shoptalk VP Content Luxe), Adam Plom (Shoptalk VP Content Europe), and Ben Miller (Shoptalk VP Original Content) for a rapid-fire breakdown of the show’s biggest moments, boldest stats, and most memorable quotes. From agentic commerce and GLP-1 disruption to channel pragm...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Duvo and Mirakl . In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: Walmart and Wing add seven new metro markets to their drone delivery expansion plan, targeting operations from 270-plus stores by 2027. B&R Stores , a family-owned Midwest grocer, deploys Simbe's Tally autonomous shelf-scanning robots to capture real-ti...